Theresa May has turned her hand to dancefloor diplomacy on the opening day of her trade trip to Africa.

The prime minister moved from side to side and bobbed up and down as she was greeted at a school by a group of pupils dancing energetically.

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May smiled and laughed throughout and later joined in with a second dance during her visit to the ID Mkize school in Cape Town in South Africa.

At a packed assembly, she told the pupils: “Can I thank all those young people who were involved in the performances outside who welcomed me.”

May used her visit to the school to announce that the Chevening scholarship would be opened up to 100 more of “Africa’s brightest young people”.

She said: “What I see before me in this hall today is the future of South Africa.

“I’d like to think that some of you, when you get older, if you’re thinking of going to university that you might think of coming to one of our great universities in the UK.

“We’ve got a programme, it’s called the Chevening scholarship, which helps people to do that and I’m pleased to say today we’re announcing that we’re going to open up scholarships to 100 more of Africa’s brightest young people.”